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Now, let’s look at the milestones — which ones are important to players, who might reach them soon, and who reached one yesterday. Ken still has a lot of waiver-gate. I’m Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal — welcome to Windup!
What milestones are important to players?: The month doesn’t matter, but it’s important to me
Sometimes, one of our writers has such a great idea that I get a little annoyed without thinking about it. Now, the source of my respectful jealousy is Stephen Nesbitt, who thought to ask many players in the league: What milestones are really meaningful to you?
Sure, big numbers like 3,000 hits or 300 home runs are important to fans and writers, but in general, those aren’t the answers that come. The ones that really provide insight into what life is like as a big leaguer.
Fans may not be enthusiastic about the service time, but it’s no surprise to hear that it’s one of the big ones. Baseball players spend their entire lives learning how to be good at baseball, and now in their late 30s (if they’re lucky), it’s time to find something else to do. Are they spending any time developing other skills while putting in 12-15 hours a day into their baseball career? Hitting 10 years of service time means a full pension for life. It’s not a sexy milestone, but it’s no wonder it’s on their minds.
It’s not all off-the-field stuff, though. Things like 200 innings pitched or 160+ games played also rank high. Baseball players want to be successful, but there is certainly a desire to be reliable in every clubhouse. Not everyone can be Ronald Acuña Jr. or Mookie Betts, but availability always depends on how hard you work – it’s a badge of honor.
The whole article is interesting. If you’re interested in how baseball players view their industry, Stephen picked a perfect topic to ask them.
Ken’s Notebook: Could pile-ups in August be a trend?
So, is Major League Baseball good at this? Good for the Angels trying to clean up nearly a quarter of their roster in a pure salary dump? Well with the questions raised by the measures about the competitive integrity of the game? The treatment for fans who bought tickets to see the Angels play last month?
Let’s be clear: The Angels acted within the rules by placing six players on waivers Tuesday. So are other clubs that take a more selective approach to the process. The goal for all teams is to save money in a lost season, especially on potential free agents they can’t keep. The Angels could also benefit by slipping under the luxury tax threshold and getting a higher draft pick if Shohei Ohtani rejects a qualifying offer and signs with another club.
Well, what’s good for Angels owner Arte Moreno isn’t necessarily good for the game. If the Angels’ plan works and most of their six players are available Thursday, other struggling teams could adopt their strategy in the coming seasons. At that point, baseball has a problem similar to the one teams make when they concede at the trade deadline, if not worse.
Think about how the Big Salary Dump in 2023, if it actually comes to that, could affect the AL pennant race. The Angels have three games left against the top AL East contenders (the Orioles and Rays) and AL Central contenders (Twins and Guardians), so no problem there. But in the West, they finished with the Astros but faced the Mariners and Rangers three times.
Advantage: Mariners and Rangers.
Of course, anything can happen overnight, and the Angels’ opponents will have to take advantage of the team’s weak situation. But what we are talking about is a distortion of the pennant race, not to mention a slap in the face to fans who bought tickets to Angels games in September and will see a compromised product.
None of this is really new. The old August waiver period allowed for similar salary-shedding maneuvers, most notably the blockbuster that saw Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford go from the Red Sox to the Dodgers in 2012. But those moves at least trades, and the Red Sox received five players in that deal – James Loney and four prospects, none of them worth much.
Now that the game operates with only one trade deadline, teams that lose players to waivers in the post-deadline period will only receive financial and potential draft-related benefits. If the Angel’s stunt was a one-time thing, great. They’ve been operating under unusual circumstances all season, knowing this will likely be Ohtani’s farewell. But here’s suspecting this is the start of a trend.
The league needs to be careful. Changes may be necessary.
More on the waiver wire: The order has been set. Let the fun begin.
Which youngster will reach 3,000 hits?: If you’re aiming anywhere, aim high
All this talk about milestones got me thinking. So far this year, we’ve seen quite a few. Both Jose Altuve and Freddie Freeman passed the 2,000-hit mark. Justin Verlander crossed 250 wins, and Clayton Kershaw reached 200. Meanwhile, Craig Kimbrel and Kenley Jansen each collected their 400th career saves this year. Bryce Harper hit his 300th home run last night.
In the “almost there” category, Giancarlo Stanton is two shy of 400 career home runs, while Kershaw (2,927) and Zack Greinke (2,962) are nearing 3,000 strikeouts.
My next thought: Who do we think will cross 3,000 hits next? Let’s look conservatively at Altuve (2,014) finishing this year with 2,040 or more. He is 33 years old. If he averages even 150 hits per year, he’ll cross 3,000 sometime in the 2030 season at age 40. It’s not a lock, but it’s certainly possible. Freeman (2,081) is also 33. Seems like a safe bet if he stays healthy.
Joey Votto (2,127) probably won’t get there. Elvis Andrus (2,067) is just a year older than Altuve, but the last time he had more than 133 hits in a season, the year was 2019.
But the more interesting question to me is: In the current major leagues born in 1999 or later, who has the best shot at cracking 3,000? I’ve identified a couple of players from each birth year who may be in the conversation (totals going into last night’s action).
Franco would be my guess at the most likely, but his career is, to put it very lightly, on the rise. If I had to pick my three favorites, I would have to go with Rodríguez, Witt Jr. and Carroll, in that order.
More New York call-ups: Make room underneath, because I’m on my way
The prospect promotion parade continues apace. News broke yesterday that the Yankees and Mets each brought in several young stars to get a taste of the big leagues this season.
In the Bronx, it’s another double-dip. They called up outfielder Jasson Domínguez, who was listed by Keith Law as the No. 27 sports prospect, and catcher Austin Wells. In Queens, infielder Ronny Mauricio also received the call to the Big Apple.
Dominguez is perhaps the most interesting of the three. He’s only 20 years old and was just promoted to Triple A earlier this month, but in eight games, he’s hitting .444 with a 1.124 OPS. It can also be seen if that translates into a little success in the league, to help plan for the 2024 season.
For Wells, the success in 32 Triple-A games hasn’t been great (he’s hitting .262 with an .822 OPS), but again — as was the case earlier this month when they called up Everson Pereira and Oswald Peraza – it’s not about trying to win more games this year, it’s about knowing what they have before they try to retool this offseason.
That’s what happened all over town. Mauricio is hitting .292 (.852 OPS) with 23 home runs in 116 games at Triple-A Syracuse this year. He can play all over the infield, but second and third seem like the most likely spots for him to get reps, with Francisco Lindor ensconced at shortstop for the foreseeable future.
The Mets will also take the next month to determine who might remain in the 2024 rotation.
Shake hands and High Five
Remember that story about Randy Johnson’s photography career? It must run with the 1990s Mariners genes – Ken Griffey Jr. worked as a photographer as Messi’s Miami took on Nashville yesterday.
We’re starting to hit the “every game is a must win” part of the season for some teams, including the Toronto Blue Jays. Same for the Chicago Cubs, who won a series against the Milwaukee Brewers.
That wasn’t the case with the Cardinals, who didn’t put up much of a fight, but Tommy Edman showed why St. Louis will rely on him in 2024.
Nesbitt and I talked about the Angels’ waiver bonanza and previewed a couple of the week’s series on On Deck podcast.
After being swept by the Astros (and losing two of three to the Dodgers before that), the Red Sox were 6 1/2 games out of the wild-card position. They could win to win a waiver claim on one of the outgoing Angels, but … should they bother?
(Top photo of Bryce Harper after hitting his 300th home run: Kyle Ross / USA Today)